Daily Times

Just few cricketers change the dynamics of cricket and their impact makes them different from the others. That’s why they are called the greats.

Imran Khan was Pakistan’s finest and greatest cricketer, truly a legend. He had been a rare talent during his era. Being an inborn leader, he led Pakistan from the front and achieved several feats. A fierce competitor, his 21-year career was defined by moments where he led a talented but volatile bunch of cricketers to improbable wins. Relegated to the sidelines after making his debut in 1971, Imran, born on November 25, 1952 in Lahore, remodelled himself as a genuine fast bowler and came back to erase all doubts about his ability as an international cricketer.

He would go onto become one of the greatest all-rounders in the game. The pinnacle of his career was undoubtedly the 1992 World Cup win, where he battled through injuries to spur a young side to triumph. At times, a complete batsman for Pakistan, a genuine fast bowler, one of the 6 greatest allrounders of all time, the captain who changed the approach of the team, Imran was way ahead of some of his contemporaries. The success in the 1992 World Cup was a milestone in the history of Pakistan cricket but for Imran it was like the 10th level of greatness as he had already achieved the nine levels.

West Indies great Viv Richards once said of Imran: “He was one of the fiercest competitors and, no matter how well you were batting, he would always have a delivery which could come and destroy you. I respect him and his cricketing views; and if the Pakistan side had a leader they looked up to and respected like they did him, they would be a much better and more consistent team than they are now.”

In a nutshell Imran was indisputably the greatest cricketer to emerge from Pakistan, and arguably the world’s second-best allrounder after Garry Sobers. Few would dispute that Imran was the biggest heartthrob. Suave, erudite and monstrously talented, he gave cricket in the subcontinent real sex appeal in the 1970s and 1980s. As such he and TV completed the popularisation of the game in his country which Hanif Mohammad and the radio had begun.

Thousands, if not millions, who had never dreamt of bowling fast on heartless baked mud suddenly wanted to emulate Imran and his lithe bounding run, his leap and his reverse-swinging yorker. He also made himself into an allrounder worth a place for his batting alone, and captained Pakistan as well as anyone, rounding off his career with the 1992 glory. He played hardly any domestic cricket in Pakistan: instead he just flew in for home series from Worcestershire or Sussex, or rather from the more fashionable London salons. His averages (37 with the bat, 22 with the ball) put him at the top of the quartet of allrounders (Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev being the others) who dominated Test cricket in the 1980s. And whereas Botham declined steadily, Imran just got better and better: in his last 10 years of international cricket he played 51 Tests, averaging a sensational 50 with the bat and 19 with the ball.

He gave no quarter during some memorable battles with West Indies – Pakistan drew three series with them at a time when everybody else was being bounced out of sight – and he led Pakistan to their first series victory in England in 1987, taking 10 for 77 with an imperious display in the decisive victory at Headingley. After retirement he remained a high-profile figure, with his marriage – and subsequent split with – the socialite Jemima Goldsmith and a move into the labyrinthine world of Pakistan politics. Imran, besides being a cricketer and politician, has also authored several books. That includes six non-fiction books including an autobiography. He is also the founder of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and the Namal College.

Published in Daily Times, July 5^th  , 2017.